Roosevelt Gets Deployment Order

Assignment Will Station Four U.s. Battle Groups Near Iraq

January 22, 2003|By DAVID LERMAN Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon ordered the Norfolk-based USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier battle group to deploy to the Persian Gulf region in coming weeks for a potential war with Iraq, defense officials confirmed Tuesday.

The new deployment orders for the Roosevelt and the West Coast-based USS Abraham Lincoln will bring to four the number of aircraft carriers within striking distance of Iraq.

The Norfolk-based USS Harry Truman is in the Mediterranean, while the San Diego-based USS Constellation is in the Gulf.

The Roosevelt is conducting a training exercise off the Puerto Rican island of Vieques. The exercise, which began Jan. 13, typically takes "several weeks," a Navy official said.

It was not clear whether the Roosevelt would return to Hampton Roads before departing for the Gulf region or proceed directly from Vieques when the training is completed.

Lt. Cmdr. Dave Werner, an Atlantic Fleet spokesman, said the deployment of the Roosevelt is contingent upon the successful completion of the training exercise.

The Navy reported Tuesday that the exercise, now entering its second week, has continued on schedule, despite rock-throwing incidents, vandalism and trespassing by protesters who object to the Navy's use of the Vieques training range.

Precisely when the Roosevelt would deploy and where it would go could not be learned. Officials would not discuss deployment schedules or destinations, citing security concerns.

The new order, however, is likely to disrupt the lives of thousands of local family members.

The Roosevelt had been scheduled for a six-month deployment beginning sometime this spring. Accelerating that timetable means families will be without their loved ones months sooner than anticipated.

The nuclear-powered carrier, built in Newport News and commissioned in 1986, has about 75 warplanes and travels with a battle group of warships armed with cruise missiles.

The Lincoln, based in Everett, Wash., will proceed to the Gulf region from Australia, where it was undergoing repairs to its flight deck following a six-month tour.

The decision to dispatch the two carrier battle groups amounts to a doubling of naval firepower in the Persian Gulf region, even as the Bush administration continues to insist that war is not inevitable.

While saying there is still time for Saddam Hussein to disclose and destroy any chemical or biological weapons he may possess, administration officials have signaled a growing impatience with the United Nations weapons inspection process.

"But as the president has said, the decision between war and peace will be made not in Washington, D.C., or New York, but in Baghdad. Either they will cooperate or they won't. And it won't take months to make that judgment."

In addition to the Roosevelt and the Lincoln, Rumsfeld could still consider deploying one or two additional carriers. Deployment orders prepared by top Pentagon staff for Rumsfeld last week included orders for the Norfolk-based USS George Washington and the Japan-based USS Kitty Hawk, officials have confirmed.

The Washington, which just returned to Norfolk on Dec. 20 from a six-month tour, has remained on call, ready to deploy with 96 hours' notice. It was not clear whether the Kitty Hawk would be sent to the Persian Gulf or kept in the Pacific to monitor tensions with North Korea.

The option of using either the Washington or the Kitty Hawk-- or both -- as part of a buildup of forces in the Gulf region means as many as six carriers could be on hand for any future war. Such a massive deployment -- consuming half of the nation's carrier fleet-- would rival the naval air power used in the 1991 Persian Gulf War, which forced the Iraqi government to withdraw from neighboring Kuwait.

Naval officials, however, have suggested a new war against Saddam might require fewer carriers than were used a decade ago because of advances in technology.

The now-widespread use of precision-guided munitions -- bombs that can be guided to their targets through satellite signals or lasers -- has produced a revolution in striking power.

A decade ago, by some estimates, the warplanes of a single carrier could strike about 160 targets in a day. Today, officials have acknowledged, that same carrier could launch strikes that could hit as many as 600 or 700 targets daily.

In addition to the carriers, the Pentagon ordered another 37,000 combat troops, mostly from Fort Hood, Texas, to the Persian Gulf region. More than 150,000 troops are expected to be in the region by the end of February.

David Lerman can be reached at (202) 824-8224 or by e-mail at dlerman@tribune.com